The American women’s freestyle team keeps outdoing itself. After last year’s seven-medal, two-gold performance, this year’s team put together a seven-medal, three-gold performance as Dominique Parrish (53 kg), Tamyra Mensah Stock (68 kg), and Amit Elor (72 kg) won titles at the World Championships in Belgrade.

If you were asked to bet on who might win gold this year, the money might not have been on two first-timers, especially considering one of them is 18 years old. But they did it, as Parrish ground her way through tough bouts against elite world-class opponents to win it all, followed by Elor shocking the world with a dominant final win. To reach the finals, the young star took out Turkey’s Buse Tosun, a bronze medalist in Oslo last year, in the semis 3-2.

Parrish won a 4-2 victory in the 53-kg finals over Mongolia’s Khulan Batkhuyag. Meanwhile, Elor quickly defeated 2021 World silver medalist Zhamila Bakbergenova of Kazakhstan in the finals with a first-period 10-0 technical fall.  

It was hard to tell how good Elor would be at the Senior level. She graduated from high school earlier this year and seemed to cruise to a Junior World title last month. Now we know she’s not just an age-level talent. She’s the best 72-kg Senior-level wrestler on the planet. Wrestling fans aren’t the only ones who are surprised.

“I’m in shock,” Elor told the media after the finals. “I kept wrestling, and this is where I am.”

With the gold medal, Elor also became the youngest American wrestler to win a Senior World title. Parrish and Elor also became the 11th and 12th American women to win World championships. 

One of those 12 champions is Mensah Stock, who became a three-time World and Olympic champion with her title in Belgrade this year. After a surprising loss last year in Oslo, where she took third, no one was close to the Olympic champion this time. She secured a fall over 2022 U20 World champion Ami Ishii of Japan in the finals after dispensing of last year’s World champion Irina Ringaci of Moldova in the semis 10-0. 

In the team race, Team USA took second again to Japan, which won five weights and finished with 190 points to USA’s 157. China was third with 84 points.

Four other medalists put the U.S. women’s team in the silver position, as Helen Maroulis (57 kg) earned her eighth World and Olympic medal with silver, falling in the finals 3-0 to Tsugumi Sakurai of Japan, the 2021 World champion at 55 kg.  

At 62 kg, Kayla Miracle earned her second straight silver medal at the World Championships, falling to Japan’s 2021 World bronze medalist Nonoka Ozaki in the finals 10-0. 

Sarah Hildebrandt earned a 50-kg bronze medal, her fourth World and Olympic medal, while Mallory Velte (65 kg) became a two-time bronze medalist, winning her second this year after winning her first in 2018.

Hildebrandt dominated her bronze match, scoring a 10-0 technical fall over 2019 World silver medalist Emilia Vuc of Romania. It was a brave match for the American, coming back after getting choked to the point of unconsciousness by Vuc at one point during the affair.

Velte was also superior in her bronze match, scoring an 11-2 win over 2022 European champion Mimi Hristova of Bulgaria. Velte scored four takedowns in the match, owning the neutral position.

At 55 kg, Jacarra Winchester landed in fifth, losing in heartbreaking fashion in her bronze match. Winchester scored early on in unorthodox fashion, getting turns with double boots in, and at one point was awarded the 10-0 technical fall over China’s Mengyu Xie, but the scoring was overturned after Xie’s corner challenged. It seemed the American was about to seal the win late in the match, holding a 12-4 lead, when she got caught on a turn after Xie stepped over and scored the fall. 

At 59 kg, Abigail Nette, competing in her first World Championships, was defeated in repechage after being pulled back into the tournament and placed 10th, earning two team points for Team USA.

At 76 kg, Dymond Guilford lost to Japan’s Yuka Kagami 3-0 in her first match, having been put on the shot clock twice. Kagami lost her next match 4-2 to Olympic bronze medalist Adar of Turkey, eliminating Guilford from the tournament.

With the seven medals this year, the U.S. women’s program matched the most-ever by a U.S. Senior World Team, tying the women’s 2003 and 2021 World teams.